Wine of the Week: 2007 Domaine les Pallières Gigondas 'Les Racines'

Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times

(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

2007 Domaine les Pallières "Les Racines" Gigondas

The sun-bleached landscape of Gigondas in France's southern Rhone has always been one of my favorite haunts. I love the wines too, especially the Gigondas from the venerable Domaine les Pallières. But when Frédéric and Daniel Brunier of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape property Vieux Télégraphe and wine importer Kermit Lynch took over the estate in 1998, under the guidance of these Rhone experts the estate's wines went up a notch or two.

Made from the oldest vines on the estate, the 2007 bottling "Les Racines" is dense and inky, with a powerful perfume of wild herbs and berries that leads you back to the glass again and again. Each sip reveals something new — a hint of licorice, the taste of raspberries or black cherries. Yet for all its power, this blend of Grenache with a small proportion of Syrah, Cinsault and Clairette is remarkably supple and lush.